


a curious tale

by cease



Category: DBSK|Tohoshinki|TVXQ
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-12
Updated: 2013-11-12
Packaged: 2017-12-29 04:31:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1000929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cease/pseuds/cease
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In his five hundredth year of existence, Changmin shifted into human form for the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part i

**Author's Note:**

> loosely based on 聊斋志异 (Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio)

i.

In his five hundredth year of existence, Changmin shifted into human form for the first time. He felt instantly cold without his fur coat, but as he slowly stood on two legs, the world became smaller, less frightening and more beautiful.

A hunter found him running through the forest, laughing uninhibited with scratches and cuts across his legs and under his feet. He didn’t understand the pain at first, his feet were softer and more sensitive than his paws had been and he no longer had his fur to protect him from the sharp leaves and twigs.

The hunter stopped him with both hands on his shoulders.

‘Are you alright?’ he asked.

Changmin has understood human language since his one hundredth year. This would be the first time he could speak it himself.

‘Ye… yes,’ he stumbled.

The hunter took off the outer robe he was wearing and draped it across Changmin’s body. He cleared his throat and looked away, ears aflame.

‘Where are your clothes?’

‘I .. I don’t know,’ Changmin told him.

He followed the hunter home to a wooden cabin and shared his food and wore his clothes. He used his inhuman speed and strength to help the hunter in subtle ways and the hunter soon became the most successful hunter in the village. He caught the largest prey, sold them to the most important people in the village for the highest price. The wooden cabin became a cottage, then became a large piece of land, and finally became an estate. The hunter no longer hunted, but he employed other people to hunt for him.

For a while Changmin was content. Humans were interesting, he discovered. He learned that money was power and that people with power often abused it.

One night, the hunter stumbled against him, pupils dilated and alcohol on his breath. Changmin held him upright and walked him to his bed only to be pulled downwards until he was pinned under the human against the sheets.

‘Changmin,’ the hunter whispered against his lips.

That night Changmin discovered that power came in other forms. He had power over a man who held power over other men. It was more interesting than his life in the forest had been and Changmin decided that he wanted to live amongst the humans and play their games and eat their food.

  


  


The first time he felt himself rotting away, he was nearly caught. He was dining with the hunter when he suddenly lost his grip on the cup. The skin on his fingers was drying rapidly and turning dark in colour. He quickly hid his hand behind his back and excused himself. Under the cover of the night, he crept away from the main house and into the barn and took the heart of one of the hunter’s prized stallions. Once the taste of blood was gone from his mouth and his hand was once again soft as silk, he returned to the hunter.

‘I love you,’ the hunter said as Changmin laid beside him.

The hunter no longer hunted, but Changmin did. He hunted in the forest and sometimes he hunted on other people's land.

‘Where were you?’ the hunter demanded when Changmin returned, ‘Who were you with?’

Changmin didn’t understand love, but he thought it must make humans dimmer than they already were. He stayed with the hunter until the hunter attempted to lock them both in the tower and light a fire.

‘If I can’t have you, then no one can!’

The hunter’s eyes were large and blazing with madness. Changmin discovered that while he had learned about human money and pleasure and power, he knew very little about the human mind and the human heart.

The tower burned. The hunter burned.

Changmin was burned badly, but he used all of his power and energy to break the blocked entrance and crawled out of the tower. He felt his damaged human body rotting from the surface and reluctantly shifted back into his original shape.

He lay on the ground, too weak to make for the safety of the forest as the tower continued to burn in the background. He refused to believe this would be the end; after five hundred years, he had finally become powerful enough to obtain a human form. Changmin had heard that demons and spirits who successfully integrate amongst humans had thousands of years of experience and magic, but Changmin was nothing if not a genius. The bitterness and anger swept through his small form and he didn’t notice the sound of hooves and shouting until small hands held him up into the air and then against a warm body.

‘Father,’ the voice above him shouted. It was young and fresh and Changmin opened his eyes to find large brown ones watching him in concern.

‘It looks injured, can I take it back with us?’

Small soft hands held him tightly and stroked Changmin’s ears and brushed against his cheeks.

‘Yunho, a fox is not a pet.’

‘But it’s injured, I can help it.’ The child pleaded.

‘Well, then it will be your responsibility.’

‘Did you hear that?’ The boy named Yunho whispered excitedly against his fur. ‘I can take you home with us!’

And then he was being carried away – away from the fire while tucked under the boy's jacket and held in surprisingly strong arms. The human's scent was overwhelming at such close proximity and Changmin thinks that he will remember Yunho's scent for thousands of years to come.

  


  


Yunho fed him water and food and wrapped him in soft blankets and curled against him in his sleep. He also stoked Changmin's ears and brushed his fur and warmed Changmin with his smiles in a way which had nothing to do with the changing seasons.

At first he hunted the livestock of the neighbours. The village woke to dead and bloody sheep with missing hearts and hunting groups were formed to patrol the area at night. The maid talked about the men and the patrol while Yunho moved Changmin to his lap and petted him affectionately.

'What strange colouring,' the maid paused in her story to comment. ‘As white as snow, that one.’

Yunho lifted one of Changmin's paws and smiled proudly.

Consuming the heart of animals helped Changmin regain some of his strength. His human form, however, was healing too slowly for his liking. He stood by a lake far away from Yunho and Yunho's family and studied himself. The burns on his skin were stark and ugly and the skin was blackened. His human form was rotting and at this pace it may take Changmin another five hundred years to become strong enough to maintain it.

Only he couldn't afford to take that long.

Human lives were short and Changmin had a life debt to repay. He vowed he would give Yunho a comfortable life. He would do everything he could to give Yunho wealth and power and influence. On the journey back to Yunho’s home, he hunted a human for the first time. He held the heart in his hands, studying it. He didn’t learn much from the heart, but he did find out that he healed a lot faster by consuming a human heart rather than an animal's.

The news of the deaths spread through the village like wildfire. Changmin tried to pace himself, but his eagerness to obtain a fully healed human form, to speak to Yunho, clouded his better judgment.

'You know, your fox is so beautiful, maybe it's a fox demon and eating the hearts of humans while you sleep,' the maid commented absentminded while dusting the shelves in Yunho's room.

Changmin raised his head from Yunho's pillow, but Yunho just laughed and said that there were no such things as demons and ghosts and spirits. Changmin decided then that he didn't care what other people thought, as long as Yunho continued to defend him. As long as Yunho never found out what he really was.

  


  


A monk arrived in the village to enquire about the deaths. Changmin sensed him from a mile away and for the first time, he was thankful that his weakened state helped to hide his own presence. The monk came with tools and enough spiritual power to cast incantations and knowledge of the supernational.

'It is the work of an evil demon,' the monk told the village people, 'Demons consume human hearts to retain their human forms.'

Whispers broke out throughout the gathered crowd.

'You mean there is a demon among us pretending to be human?' Someone asks. Silence fell as the crowd awaited the monk's reply.

'Someone who looks human, but is not. It could be anyone.'

Yunho's arms tightened around Changmin's body and he let out a small whine in protest. Yunho smiled at him apologetically and nuzzled his face against Changmin's neck. They visited the market and Changmin walked at Yunho's heels while the boy bargained with vegetable and fruit sellers who were clearly very fond of Yunho and let him get away with ridiculous prices.

As they approached the house, Changmin sensed the monk's presence. He tried to hurry away, but Yunho ran after him and lifted him into the air. Vegetables and fruits were scattered on the ground, but Yunho didn't seem to notice.

'Don't go,' Yunho said as he squeezed Changmin tightly against his chest. 'You might get lost and not find your way home.'

Yunho wasn't smiling anymore and against his better judgment, Changmin stopped struggling and lapped at Yunho's hands in apology. He couldn't leave the boy yet. He had not repaid the boy for saving his life. He would stay with the boy until the debt was paid. He would stay with the boy forever if it were necessary.

The monk was speaking with Yunho’s father. Yunho pressed his ear against the door and Changmin squirmed in his arms. Changmin didn’t need to be close to hear what they were saying.

‘I sensed a strange energy around your home,’ the monk said. ‘My apologies for visiting so suddenly.’

‘Anything to aid in the capture of this evil demon,’ Yunho’s father said.

The conversation turned to mundane pleasantries and Changmin was relieved when Yunho grew bored. They were playing in the yard when the monk found them. Changmin was caught off guard, too engrossed in chasing Yunho around his mother’s small vegetable patch to notice they were being watched until a pair of feet entered his vision.

‘What a beautiful creature,’ the monk said. Changmin instantly froze. Yunho walked towards them and picked Changmin up to hold in his arms.

‘Thank you,’ Yunho said.

‘A rare creature indeed,’ the monk muttered and his eyes bore into Changmin’s and Changmin was almost sure that the monk knew exactly what he was. But the monk just nodded at them and walked away.

  


  


Changmin woke that night to a presence waiting outside. The household was silent and Yunho was drooling into his pillow, an arm thrown carelessly across Changmin. Changmin looked sadly at Yunho’s face and nudged his cheeks against Yunho’s before padding across the bed and onto the floor. He didn’t dare look back as he walked out of the room, even though he knew that this may be the last time he would ever see Yunho. There was a foreign ache in his chest and Changmin briefly considered whether consuming all those human hearts had done something strange to him.

The monk was waiting for him a short distance away from Yunho’s home. It was considerate really. Changmin didn’t want to disturb Yunho and his family, but if he was really going to die that night, he didn’t mind dying close to Yunho.

‘I realised my mistake when I saw you,’ the monk said by way of a greeting. ‘You weren’t eating the human hearts to maintain your human form. You were eating them to revive it. I will not show mercy even if you are injured. You have killed too many.’

The air crackled around them. Changmin’s eyes glowed red in the dark night and his energy swirled around him protectively as a shield. The monk’s hands flew into action, forming seal after seal, his spiritual energy pushing against Changmin’s demonic energy until Changmin was physically thrown back against a tree. He tasted blood in his mouth and barely had enough time to react before seeing the monk’s Buddhist prayer beads glow. The beads separated and then flew towards him in an attack that would almost certainly penetrate the last of Changmin’s energy shield. Changmin closed his eyes in despair, knowing that this would be the end. He should have left and ran far, far away as soon as he sensed the monk. But instead he had stayed and risked getting caught even though he knew his injuries had weakened his power. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to regret staying, he only regretting not being able to repay Yunho for saving his life in the first place.

Changmin closed his eyes and waited for the impact, but the beads never hit him. Instead there was loud cry and a warm body covering him. When he opened his eyes, Yunho’s pained face swam into view. There was blood on his face from a cut under his left eye and blood running down from under his sleeve. Changmin growled.

‘Boy!’ The monk cried in surprise, ‘Get away from the fox!’

But Yunho wasn’t listening, he reached to stroke Changmin with shaking bloody hands and something painful twisted inside Changmin. His vision blurred and before he knew what he was doing, he was shifting. His limbs extended and he was suddenly standing upright and stalking towards the monk. Demonic energy that he didn’t realise he still possessed crackled around him in his fury. It wasn’t until his dark fingers were wrapped around the monk’s neck that he realised he must have somehow broken through the monk’s own shields.

It was also then that he heard the voice screaming at him.

‘-him go! Stop! Let him go! Stop!’

Changmin froze. In his rage he had forgotten Yunho was still there. His grip loosened and the monk slid onto the ground. But Changmin didn’t dare look back at Yunho. He didn’t want Yunho to see his scarred, blackened face; he didn’t want Yunho to see him for the monster he was. Most importantly, he didn’t think he could stand to see the terror and disgust that would almost certainly be there in those brown eyes, which had always softened when they saw him.

Changmin ran.

He ran from the monk gasping for breath in the dirt, and he ran from Yunho’s voice crying out after him.

He ran away from the village and into the city.

In the city the population was dense and Changmin hunted his prey in dark alleys and backstreets. It took him one year to heal his human form. After that hunting became much easier. His prey followed the graceful sweep of his robes, his fair skin and flowing dark hair. A simple smile and they would follow him into the outskirts of the town where Changmin could easily dispose of the bodies.

He returned to Yunho’s village, but found that the house had been abandoned. He searched the rooms desperately, trying to find some clue on Yunho’s whereabouts, but the house was empty. Dejected, Changmin travelled from city to city, learning more about humans and searching for any news of a small boy with kind eyes and a warm smile.

It would be 15 years before Changmin saw Yunho again. And by then, Yunho was no longer a boy.

  


  



	2. Part ii

  


ii.

Changmin makes alliances and enemies over the years. Kim Heechul is an ally who Changmin considered may, at any time, become an enemy. Heechul was skilful, knowledgeable, and yet deadly. He introduced Changmin to the joys of music, not because he believed it was a worthwhile hobby, but because it was an effective skill to lure prey. Playing the zither was not just about the melody, it was about the flick of an elegant finger, about the peek of the skin of a delicate wrist underneath heavy fabric.

Changmin was a keen student and found that music was something that came to him naturally. It gave him peace he had not thought was possible for a creature such as himself. But the longer he stayed with Heechul, the more he began to sense that these lessons were not free. Heechul did not stop him when he suggested parting ways, however, the smile on his teacher’s face made it clear that the favour he owed for learning his skills would one day be called upon.

  


  


He met Cho Kyuhyun in a crowd. The city guards had just found a body buried in the forest, one of Changmin’s, and Changmin watched from the sidelines, angry at himself for not having taken care of the body thoroughly enough. They locked eyes and the instant connection was clear.

‘You need to think about who you chose to hunt. It is as important as how the prey is disposed of in the end,’ Kyuhyun told him later.

Kyuhyun’s original form had an amber coat, almost red under the sunlight. His tail drew a graceful arch and brushed Changmin’s. They ran together through the forest at the outskirts of the city, wild and joyful. They were amiable companions, too similar to have any real friction, but Kyuhyun wanted to be part of a pack and Changmin – Changmin had debts to repay, promises to fulfil and a human boy to find.

  


  


Lord Choi Minho is the only human alliance Changmin has made. They met through Kyuhyun, who described Minho as a valuable connection. Minho held a position in the King’s court, as did his father and his late grandfather. Theirs was a family with old money and prestige and Changmin found studying their role in the city fascinating.

They first met at the Choi family party on the night of the mid-autumn festival. The gardens in the estate contained a man-made lake. It was unnecessary and completely self-indulgent, but admired by all. That night the lake was lit by dozens of lanterns brighter than the full moon in the dark sky. Kyuhyun laughed at the wonder in Changmin’s expression.

‘If we are to live amongst the humans,’ he whispered conspiratorially, ‘then we shall at least live amongst the human elite.’

Changmin wanted to disagree, because he had found all kinds of humans interesting, but then again, he had not yet had the chance to study anyone from the upper class. So he returned with Kyuhyun to more parties at the Choi residence. After a while Kyuhyun left claiming boredom, but by then Changmin was being invited to private parties with Minho. He stayed at the estate for half a year before packing his bags. By the time he left Minho, his once humble garments had been exchanged for robes in silk and gold thread. Minho didn’t try to stop Changmin from leaving; in fact he seemed confident that Changmin would return.

Even so, it was a surprise when, nearly three years later, a messenger found Changmin cities away to deliver an invitation from his lordship.

  


  


Minho’s father was retiring and the Choi family collection of artworks and musical instruments were to be sent to their family home in the country to accompany him in what he hoped to be a lifestyle of leisure. Changmin had been invited to pick an instrument as a token of his friendship with Minho; it was a gift Changmin could not refuse.

The majority of the collection was already on its way out of the city together with rolls of fine fabric and chests of books. There were, however, four pieces, all precious and priceless family heirlooms, which Minho didn’t trust to be delivered by the servants in the same fashion. These consisted of a zither made by the court artisan from the previous century, a jade flute, a work of calligraphy by the hand of the emperor himself which had been given to the family as a gift, and a painting by the most popular artist of his grandfather’s time. Changmin picked the zither at once, fingers stroking the cold, long wooden frame in delight. It was an invaluable gift, and he thanked Minho with a song played using the gift and a promise that he would play for Minho whenever the lord desired.

The remaining three objects would be personally delivered by the most reputable private guard service in the country.

  


  


‘The guards are here, my Lord,’ a servant announced. It was several days after Changmin’s return and he had been asked to accompany Minho for almost all of the lord’s meetings during that time.

Minho nodded at him and ordered for extra teacups to be brought in to serve their guests.

‘The head of this private guard troupe is apparently the son of a former magistrate in one of western provinces,’ Minho leaned over to tell him, ‘rather intriguing isn’t it, why the son of an obviously academic family would chose to join the private guard business.’

Changmin sipped at his own tea, uninterested in speculating about other people’s lives and bored that he was to play Minho’s companion for the duration of his stay. Minho was perfectly capable of running his estate and performing his official duties. Changmin suspected that Minho kept him close so that he wouldn’t have to sit through tedious meeting after meeting alone.

‘Do you do background research on everyone you hire?’ Changmin asked.

‘Everyone who I entrust my assets to.’

‘Except for you and Kyuhyun of course,’ he grinned when Changmin raised an eyebrow at him, ‘but then again, what use is a background research when it’s the heart that is entrusted?’

Changmin began to bat his eyelashes outrageously at his host and Minho threw his head back in laughter. They then fell into silence as they waited for their guests to be shown in. They had shared silences before, companiable silences while Minho practiced his calligraphy and Changmin read his way through the library. But something in the air had shifted towards the end of their conversation that left Changmin wondering whether he had misunderstood their relationship. He was pondering over humans and their tendencies for attachments when a familiar scent reached him.

It hit him before anyone entered the room and sent Changmin’s teacup shattering onto the floor. Servants rushed to clear up the mess and Changmin attempted to wipe away the fresh stains on his silk robes as quickly as possible, but then the scent was in the room and Minho was coughing to get his attention. Changmin hastily stood up to greet the guests while clutching the arm of his chair in support as the room tilted in front of his eyes.

It was both familiar and yet so different. The fresh, wonderful smell that was distinctly Yunho, but it had matured into something strong and steady that matched the hardened lines of his jaw and the intensity of his eyes. It made Changmin’s mind spin in both delight and confusion. It was clear that this was no longer the young human boy who held Changmin to sleep with his nose buried in his thick coat.

‘My Lord,’ Yunho greeted. His voice was deep and so, so unfamiliar that it shook Changmin out of his daze.

‘Young Master Jung,’ Minho responded politely. Then he threw a glance to Changmin who straightened himself and nodded at him.

‘And this is my friend Shim Changmin, he is an exquisite musician.’

Yunho turned to him and bowed slightly, ‘Young Master Shim.’

‘Young Master Jung,’ Changmin bowed in return.

‘This is Lee Donghae,’ Yunho continued, ‘My right hand, so to speak, and the second in charge of my troupe.’

Yunho seemed to frown a little at the way Changmin and Minho only gave Donghae a passing nod. It assured Changmin to some extent to know that Yunho was still that strong-headed boy who stood up for his friends no matter what. But Minho was a Lord and Changmin was an artist in the commission of a Lord, and both Yunho and Donghae were mere merchants who offered their services for a fee. Minho had been generous when he addressed Yunho, presumably from his knowledge of Yunho’s background, but that generosity didn’t extend to Yunho’s friend. Said friend, however, appeared unfazed, but Changmin could see Yunho was holding his anger in check.

‘Please take care to see that the instruments remain safe,’ Changmin told Yunho softly, ‘they are truly priceless.’

He smiled widely at Yunho instead and it seemed to throw the man off a little, anger dissolving as he stared at Changmin in surprise.

‘Of- of course’ Yunho stuttered and his ears darkened in embarrassment.

Changmin then excused himself and swept out of the room, leaving Minho to discuss business. His eyes closed briefly as he brushed past Yunho, something unfamiliar trembled underneath his mortal skin at having his human within reach once again.

  


  


He was playing the zither when Yunho entered the courtyard that night. It would be a lie to say that he hadn’t been waiting for him, that he hadn’t picked a spot in Minho’s large garden that was closest to the guest room Yunho was staying in.

His fingers glided over each string with precision and a melody filled the night air. He saw his human boy’s face, so soft and full of kindness; and then the man who had stood in Minho’s guest hall. There were hard lines that Changmin did not recognise and wisdom in eyes that Changmin found enduring. His human boy was no longer a boy and the knowledge hit Changmin along with a sense of loss. The gratitude and fondness he had felt for his human boy, he hesitated to associate with the adult Yunho had become.

‘What a beautiful song,’ Yunho said. The leather gloves and swords were gone. Instead he wore simple robes, which shifted gently to the wind.

‘I am pleased to see you again,’ Changmin greeted with a small smile, ‘the night is too beautiful to enjoy alone. Allow me to play a song for you.’

Yunho laughed softly, a rich sound, which was familiar in the way it washed warmly over Changmin.

‘I leave myself in your hands, Master Shim.’

  


  


Changmin found Yunho the next morning sitting outside a street food stall surrounded by three men and a woman who he assumed belonged to his troupe. Yunho didn’t seem to recognise him at first and Changmin ran a hand down his plain cotton robes self-consciously. It was silly of course, because he was confident that he looked fine, but Yunho was not like the usual human prey allured by his looks.

‘Master Shim,’ Yunho greeted, surprise evident in his voice as Changmin approached the table.

‘Please call me Changmin,’ he said and he wearily eyed the four pairs of curious eyes that stared at him. Yunho must have noticed too, because he gestured towards an empty table close by and they moved there together.

‘I almost didn’t recognise you,’ Yunho said.

Changmin placed the cloth wrapped zither on the table and his bag beside it.

‘I don’t think it appropriate to wear good clothing for travelling,’ Changmin said.

‘Your robes yesterday alone would be enough motive for a robbery in some parts of this country,’ Yunho said.

It wasn’t a negative comment towards him, just a statement of fact, but for some reason Changmin felt disappointed. He was used to people complimenting him when he dressed well. A waiter placed two cups in front of them and began filling them with what looked like tea, but didn’t smell like tea. Changmin grimaced visibly.

‘Where are you travelling to?’ Yunho asked, looking amused.

‘South,’ Changmin said. Then he paused and added, ‘like you.’

‘Oh,’ Yunho said. He looked like he was going to say something else, but then looked away.

‘I-' Changmin started and then bit his lips, unsure of how to continue. ‘I know it is a big favour to ask, and we are not so acquainted with each other that it would make it more reasonable for me to ask this of you, but if you could accompany me…’

‘Master Shim-‘ Yunho interrupted.

‘Changmin,’ he insisted.

‘Changmin, my troupe and I are on a job,’ Yunho said, his eyes are serious and hard.

‘It is a company rule that we don’t take on two jobs at the same time. We can’t afford to protect you while we are protecting Lord Choi’s instruments.’ Then he took a deep breath.

‘I am very sorry.’

Changmin fumed on the inside. There was something about the unemotional, business-like way Yunho spoke that made his eyes flash with fury. His human boy had been loving and brave, and the Yunho he had met yesterday had faltered at the sight of his smile and listened to him play with such a serene expression on his face. The man sitting in front of him, however, was blunt and ready to bid Changmin farewell even though Changmin had been searching for him for 15 years. It didn’t matter to Changmin that to Yunho he was barely an acquaintance, practically a stranger.

‘I see,’ Changmin said curtly.

Yunho smiled awkwardly at him, but Changmin was already standing and securing the zither over his shoulder. He excused himself and Yunho barely had enough time to stand and bid him farewell.

He could feel the stares of Yunho and his troupe as he walked away, but none of it mattered. His fists clenched tightly and his palms burned as his nails dug into skin. He seethed at Yunho dismissing his request so easily and his chest tightened at the memory of Yunho brushing his fingers through Changmin’s fur, pressing his face behind Changmin’s ears. Knowledge and logic told him that humans change a great deal as they grow from child to adult during their limited lifespan and that he couldn’t reasonably expect Yunho to remain unchanged over the years. He found it upset him to consider the possibility that his human boy was lost to him.

The truth remained, however, that the adult Yunho still lived. Changmin had a debt to repay and he was going to do everything he could to find a way to repay that debt, whether Yunho approved or not.

  


  


Thirty miles south of Minho’s estate, there was a small town colloquially known as ‘the blood lake village.’ The town was separated into north and south counterparts, divided by a large lake that was the colour of crimson. After making some simple enquiries, Changmin found out that most of the locals owned boats, but refused to take outsiders as passengers. It was local superstition that made the townspeople wary of outsiders.

‘It’s a story from my grandfather’s grandfather,’ an elderly woman told him as she sat on the steps of her home sorting out a basket of vegetables.

‘Tell me about it,’ Changmin urged. He sat down next to her and offered her a gold coin.

She frowned at him, but Changmin just smiled. He reached to pick out a cucumber from her basket and bit into it. She broke into laughter.

‘That is the most I’ve ever sold a cucumber for.’

‘I’m hungry,’ Changmin said with a straight face.

‘Keep your gold young man.’ She placed the coin into his hands and grinned at him. ‘I’ll tell you because you’re handsome.’

Some one hundred years ago, the lake was a beautiful blue, the woman told him. It was as blue as the cloudless sky. Then one day an outsider arrived. He was more beautiful than any person the townspeople had even seen (‘more beautiful than all the women?’ Changmin asked. ‘Probably more beautiful than you,’ the elderly woman teased.) The men and women of the town were so taken by the beautiful man that not a day passed without someone confessing their love to him. Soon, the men and women began to worship him. Instead of praying to the god of the lake like their ancestors taught them, they began to devote their time and prayers to the outsider. One day, the outsider announced that he would marry whoever crossed the lake from the north side to south the fastest. The unmarried young men and women of the town took part in the competition, but just as the group neared the centre of the lake, the boats all sank. It was a scene of pure horror. Everyone in the town could swim, but that day they all died. You see, the story goes that the god of the lake was angry at the townspeople for their disregard of the old ways. The moment the outsider entered the town, the people had lost their faith in the lake god and so the god punished them.

‘Then how do outsiders cross to the south side of the lake now?’ Changmin asked when the story ended.

The elderly woman laughed, ‘you are a strange one. I told you a story of gods and death and you do not ask any question about the tale.’

Changmin shrugged. What he could not tell her was that, being what he is, the story was not so farfetched. He also could not tell her that if a demon had been the outsider in the tale, he would most likely be still alive in this world somewhere.

‘Most outsiders are forced to take the route around the lake to reach the other side. It takes a further 3 days if you are fast.’

‘Most?’ Changmin asked.

She grinned at him and offered him a jade pendant from her pocket. ‘Take the boat tied at the post which bear the same marking as this pendant. That is my boat. If anyone gives you trouble, show them this pendant. When you reach the other side, look for Seohyun. She is my grandchild. Give the pendant to her and she will return the boat to me in the morning.’

For a moment, Changmin was speechless. He had not planned any tricks to have this woman help him, yet here she was, offering her assistance without any real motive. Once again, it seemed he had much to learn about humans.

‘I do not know how to repay you,’ he said finally.

‘Marry my grandchild,’ she said. At his horrified expression, she laughed loudly.

‘A joke of course,’ she reassured him, ‘Although I do think the two of you would give me beautiful great-grandchildren, you being handsome and Seohyun being so beautiful.’

Changmin smirked, ‘when I meet your granddaughter, I will try my best to charm her. However, if she refuses me, I’m afraid there is not much I can do.’

The elderly woman just waved him away, ‘Do not get my hopes up young man, it is not kind.’

  


  


When Changmin found the boat, he also found Yunho and his troupe at the riverbank. They were speaking with a young man who was untying the ropes to another boat. Changmin was not surprised that Yunho too had secured passage across the lake.

Upon closer inspection, Yunho’s eyebrows were knitted together in concentration, like he was attempting to think through a difficult decision. Eyes shifting to the boat that they were presumably going to board, Changmin saw his dilemma right away. Yunho’s troupe was five strong and including the young man who was untying the boat, there were six people in total. The boat, however, clearly could only seat a maximum of five.

He deliberately made noise, flinging the oars into the boat as hard as he could. At first, when there was no movement, Changmin feared that Yunho had chosen to ignore him, but just as he was untying the ropes, a shadow fell over his crouched form.

‘Master Shim,’ a familiar voice said from above him.

Changmin looked up from his position on the ground and brushed his fringe away from his eyes.

‘Master Jung,’ he greeted.

Yunho’s expression was closed off. Changmin couldn’t work out whether the man was angry or not.

‘I didn’t expect to see you here, it’s almost like you are following us.’

‘How curious that you would think so, sir,’ Changmin replied, lips pulling into a defiant smirk, ‘when I remember telling you not long ago, that we would be heading in the same direction.’

‘Then I hope what you say is true,’ Yunho’s voice was stern, but his eyes were not unkind. ‘This is not a game Changmin.’

He tried not to let his surprise at hearing his name show, but there was something about the way that Yunho said it that made Changmin a little warm.

‘I think your boat is a little small,’ Changmin said instead, changing the subject.

Yunho sighed. ‘Only four of us and the local boy can cross today. He is running an errand and has agreed to take a few more passengers for some coins. He will not allow us to take the boat on our own, nor will he come back for a second trip. Something about not wanting to risk his luck twice.’

‘It is a local superstition,’ Changmin told him, feeling somewhat smug at being better informed. ‘They do not take kindly to outsiders.’

Yunho raised an eyebrow and gestured to the boat Changmin was untying.

Changmin grinned at him, ‘I used my unparalleled charm to convince a lovely maiden to allowing me to borrow her boat.’

‘I see.’

Changmin was a little irritated to see that Yunho looked sceptical.

‘Well then,’ Changmin started and made a show of untangling the ropes and climbing onto the boat. ‘I presume with your delays we won’t be seeing each other for a while.’

Then he busied himself with arranging his bags even though there was nothing to really arrange and fought hard not to look at Yunho.

‘Wait,’ Yunho called, just as Changmin was reaching for the oars. ‘I… your boat appears to be large enough to seat one more.’

Changmin tried to suppress his smile with some difficulty, ‘It does indeed.’

‘I – I would be grateful if you would allow me to ride with you,’ Yunho said. There was something very attractive about the way his cheeks flushed slightly, Changmin decided.

He rested his chin on his palm and stared at Yunho, ‘I don’t know, sir, I seem to remember you refusing to travel with me.’

‘Master Shim,’ Yunho said, irritation clear in his voice. His face darkened more, most likely in embarrassment and anger at having to ask for the favour. Changmin decided to take pity on him.

‘Come on,’ he said and tossed Yunho the oars.

‘If you must follow me,’ he said and then ignored Yunho’s snort, ‘you might as well do some work.’ Then he leaned back leisurely while Yunho rolled his eyes and pushed the boat away from the dock before setting a pace with the oars.

For a while Changmin listened to the gentle splashes of the wooden oars as they drove into the water. Then he got bored.

‘You were quite amiable when we were at Lord Choi’s house,’ he said softly, fingertips dipping into the red water. ‘What changed?’

Yunho sighed deeply and then Changmin felt the boat still. He turned to see Yunho resting the oars on his lap. The midday sun hung above then, warm and bright and Yunho tilted his head back to bask in it.

‘I don’t … dislike you,’ he said, sounding oddly tired, even though Changmin could see that the exercise hadn’t even caused him to break a sweat.

‘You are a master musician,’ Yunho continued, ‘you play wonderfully. In fact, that night you played in the courtyard, I heard the most beautiful melodies I had ever had the pleasure to listen to in all my travels.’

Changmin stilled in surprise when Yunho suddenly leaned over and reached for his hands.

‘You have a musician’s hands,’ he said, ‘calluses on your fingers from practice, no doubt, but your palms are soft.’

Then he held out his own hand and Changmin hesitantly brushed a finger over his palm.

‘It’s coarse from using weapons,’ Yunho explained.

Then Changmin turned his hand over and touches his knuckles.

‘Fist fights,’ Yunho said and a grin threatened to spread across his face.

‘I don’t know why you are following us –‘

‘I’m not following you,’ Changmin interrupted, but he didn’t meet Yunho’s eyes. Yunho’s hand caught his again.

‘I don’t know why you are following us,’ he repeated firmly, ‘but this is not a game, Changmin. I have lost men on this job, good experienced men. We aren’t just travelling for leisure; when we travel we carry things that some people would kill for. The better we get at this job, the more known we have become. Some make a living from stealing from private guards like us. It saves them the trouble of looking for valuable things themselves.

I can’t take you with us because it’s dangerous for you. I also can’t take you with us because it would be dangerous for us to look out for you while on a mission.’

‘I can look after myself,’ Changmin insisted, but Yunho just shook his head.

‘These hands play the zither so well, but I wonder if they can kill a man in self defence.’

Changmin opened and then closed his mouth. How could he tell Yunho that these hands have penetrated skin, have ripped out hearts and torn off limbs? How could he tell Yunho, that the first time his hands had soaked in blood, that he had done it for _him_?

‘You don’t know anything about me,’ he said instead.

When they reached the south bank, Yunho’s troupe was waiting for them. Three men and a woman, and this time Changmin took the time to memorise their faces. The men were talking amongst themselves, but the woman stared at him with clear curiosity. She did not appear to be embarrassed having been caught staring, instead she smiled at him, then her eyes moved to Yunho who was testing Changmin’s knot tying skills and her smile grew.

‘You are not heading back?’ Yunho asked, drawing Changmin’s attention back to him.

‘I keep telling you that I’m heading south, but you seem to have a short memory span,’ Changmin said with a roll of his eyes.

Yunho ignored his insult, instead he searched Changmin’s face for a long moment before sighing deeply.

‘There are a few towns south from here,’ he said ‘I suggest you do not take the route to the one closet to the mountains.’

‘You mean the route that you will be taking? Since there is only one town directly south from here, and that’s the one closest to the mountains,’ Changmin said, ‘the others are southwest.’

‘I have heard rumours that the town below the mountains has been under the threat of bandits in the recent year,’ Yunho continued, ‘it is best if you do not take that route. A short detour is more preferable than being attacked by bandits.’

‘Sure,’ Changmin said with a straight face, but it was clear that Yunho was not buying any of it.

‘If by some chance, you find yourself in that town, despite the warning I have just given you- ’ Yunho trailed off and reached inside his robes to produce a small, sheathed blade. He offered it to Changmin.

Changmin stared at the blade in surprise. It was second time that day he had been offered something without having asked for anything. As his fingers closed around the leather of the sheath, he felt something akin to triumph. It did not matter that his claws were sharper than any human made blade.

As Yunho walked away to join his troupe, Changmin tucked the blade securely into his robes and smiled at Yunho’s retreating back.

‘See you at the next town.’

  


  



End file.
